The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, met yesterday with his Ministry’s crisis office to analyse the situation caused in Niger by the coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently being held by the military who led the rebellion.
The Cabinet, according to diplomatic sources, discussed the coordination of the evacuation of the 70 Spaniards still in Niger, whom the minister urged on Monday to contact the Spanish Embassy in Niamey “immediately”, if they have not already done so, so that they can be “located” for the evacuation, and to “be sure that they are well”.
For its part, the French government managed to repatriate 262 French nationals on a first flight, who arrived in Paris late on Tuesday. The French authorities hope to be able to evacuate another 600 French and European citizens who are still in Niger in the coming hours.
Meanwhile, Spain and other European countries -Germany and Italy- are still trying to obtain permission from Niger’s military authorities for evacuation planes to land at Niamey airport.
Meanwhile, there are fears of an escalation of war in the region as the one-week deadline set by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which threatened to use force to reinstate the deposed president if the Nigerien military does not back down, continues to run. Neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, also controlled by military juntas, immediately responded by warning that they will support Niger’s coup plotters if the organisation tries to intervene militarily.
